“DOUBLE TAP TO INVEST!”: HOW FINFLUENCERS (FINANCIAL INFLUENCERS) SHAPE GEN Z USERS' BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS ON INSTAGRAM

Mahmut Selami Akın

doi:10.37880/cumuiibf.1811489

TR EN

“Yatırım İçin Çift Dokun!”: Finfluencer’lar (Finansal Influencer) Z Nesli Instagram Kullanıcılarının Davranışlarını Nasıl Şekillendiriyor?

Öz

Son yıllarda sosyal medya üzerinden kişisel finans yatırım bilgileri ve önerileri paylaşan “finfluencer” olarak tanımlanan yeni bir kanaat önderi ortaya çıkmıştır. “Finfluencer”lar aynı zamanda çevrimiçi finansal bilgi ekosistemlerinde giderek daha belirgin aktörler haline gelmiştir. Ancak, takipçileri üzerindeki etkilerini şekillendiren dinamiklere ilişkin araştırmalar sınırlıdır. Bu çalışma, kaynak-güvenirliği (uzmanlık, güvenilirlik, çekicilik) ve öz-belirleme (özerklik, yeterlik, ilişkililik) kuramları çerçevesinde, Z Kuşağı Instagram kullanıcılarının “finfluencer”lara yönelik tutumlarını ve bunlardan kaynaklanan davranışsal niyetleri nasıl yordadığını incelemektedir. Çalışmada 207 geçerli veri elde edilmiş ve SPSS 22.0, Jamovi 2.6.44, PROCESS macro kullanılarak açımlayıcı faktör, çoklu regresyon ve düzenleyici analizler yürütülmüştür. Bulgular, algılanan güvenilirlik, çekicilik ve ilişkililiğin “finfluencer”lara yönelik tutumları anlamlı ve pozitif yönde yordadığını; buna karşın algılanan uzmanlık, özerklik ve yeterliğin etkili olmadığını göstermektedir. Ayrıca tutum, hem “finfluencer” hesabını takip etme niyetini hem de “finfluencer”ın önerilerini takip etme niyetini güçlü biçimde öngörmektedir. Cinsiyet ve bir işte çalışma durumunun düzenleyici etkiye sahip olmamasına rağmen, etkileşim etkilerinin incelenmesiyle kaynak-güvenirliği boyutlarının “finfluencer”a karşı tutum üzerindeki farklı etkilere sahip olduğuna ilişkin ilave içgörüler sağlamaktadır. Araştırma bulguları, yükselen sosyal medya çağında “finfluencer”ların tüketicilerin finansal davranışları üzerindeki artan değerine ışık tutmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

“DOUBLE TAP TO INVEST!”: HOW FINFLUENCERS (FINANCIAL INFLUENCERS) SHAPE GEN Z USERS' BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS ON INSTAGRAM

Abstract

Recently, a novel opinion leader who share personal financial investment knowledge and recommendations in social media have been rising, described as finfluencers. They also represent a pivotal actor in online financial information ecosystem for financial consumers. However, investigating how finfluencers' aspirational dynamics shape their influence on their audience in marketing context are limited. The study investigates how source-credibility (expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness) and self-determination theories (autonomy, competence, relatedness) predict attitudes toward finfluencers and subsequent behavioral intentions among gen Z Instagram users. 207 valid data were obtained and explanatory factor, regression and moderation analysis were conducted through IBM SPSS 22.0, Jamovi 2.6.44. and PROCESS macro. Results indicate that perceived trustworthiness, attractiveness, and relatedness significantly and positively predicted attitudes toward finfluencers, whereas perceived expertise, autonomy, and competence did not. Moreover, attitude robustly predicts both intention to follow the finfluencer’s account and to follow the finfluencer's advice. Although gender and job status do not moderate the effects, examining the interaction effect provides further insight into the diverse impacts of source-credibility dimensions on attitudes toward finfluencers. The research findings illuminate the value of finfluencers, who are emerging opinion leaders in consumers' financial behavior in the era of growing social media.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

The author acknowledge that they received no external funding in support of this research.

Ethical Statement

It is declared that scientific and ethical principles have been followed while carrying out and writing this study and that all the sources used have been properly cited. The author used Grammarly AI software to check the manuscript for spelling and grammatical errors.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Business Administration

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Mahmut Selami Akın ^*
0000-0002-8175-4618
Türkiye

Publication Date

January 26, 2026

Submission Date

October 27, 2025

Acceptance Date

January 1, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 27 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1811489

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA74UX63RU

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Akın, M. S. (2026). “DOUBLE TAP TO INVEST!”: HOW FINFLUENCERS (FINANCIAL INFLUENCERS) SHAPE GEN Z USERS’ BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS ON INSTAGRAM. Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İktisadi Ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, 27(1), 238-256. https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1811489

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